In Memoriam

Class Notes

1989

Joe Gonzales Master of Social Work recipient (posthumous)

Joe Gonzales III, born on May 10, 1972, in Hondo, Texas died on June 28, 2022, at the age of 50. He is survived by children, Joe Gonzales IV, Camille Gonzales, Laela Gonzales; mother, Frances Sparks; brother, Seth Sparks; step-father, Tim Sparks; father, Joe Gonzales Jr., as well as numerous family members and friends.

Joe served in the US Marine Corps, and since his earliest contacts with our program he expressed his dedication to serving other veterans. He knew early on that he wanted to complete a field practicum at the VA, and he was on track to fulfill that plan this fall semester. He regularly mentioned his commitment to veterans and desire to instill hope in people feeling despair.

In memories that people involved with those who knew Joe have shared, common themes highlight Joe’s humor, wisdom, courage, pride in his children, enjoyment in “devil’s advocate” conversations, and his strong sense of determination and perseverance.

His wishes for his children were for them to be successful and good citizens. He had asked God to please give him time to see that they all graduated from high school. God gave him that time.

“Many of Joe's professors had experiences with him where he went out of his way to show kindness to us as individuals and encourage us in our work, especially when times were tough,” said Amy Chanmugam, chair of the Department of Social Work. “It was clear that he was very proud of his family, and he loved being a Dad and was especially proud of his children. He clearly wanted to help people, especially fellow veterans, and was accepted into a competitive internship at the VA for this fall semester. Joe said he wanted to instill hope in people who felt despair. We will miss Joe terribly, and share our condolences with your family. We are grateful we had the privilege of spending time with him in our program these last few years.”

Patricia Lenzi (Criminology and Criminal Justice) is an enrolled member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, a member of the Wolf Clan. She serves as Chief Judge of the St. Regis Mohawk Appeals Court. Judge Lenzi is the Chief Judge of the Winnemucca Indian Colony, and Chief Judge of the Cedarville Rancheria Tribal Court, and a conflicts judge for the Yerington Paiute Tribe and the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe. Judge Lenzi has extensive courtroom experience as well as general legal experience. As an attorney, she has tried over 100 cases to jury verdict in state court. She has successfully represented tribes in tribal, state and federal civil litigation, administrative matters, and appeals. Judge Lenzi provides continuing education for professionals throughout the United States, and was an adjunct professor for Trial Practice at the University of California at Davis School of Law, King Hall. She has substantial experience as an instructor for professional colleagues throughout multiple states and agencies outside the U.S.

1994

Nicole Willis (Sociology) was recently named SchoolRelated Employee of the Year by Broward County Public Schools in South Florida. She serves as a career services advisor for business and economic development. Broward County has the 6th largest school district in the country.

1996

Alfred Rapoza (Criminology and Criminal Justice) enjoyed his time at UTSA and remembers it fondly. Recently he attended a UTSA baseball game against the Islanders and had a blast. “When I attended UTSA we only had four buildings,” he recalled. “I remember graduating at the convocation building – I don’t recognize the campus now. It’s grown and beautiful.” He is proud to have received a formal education from UTSA.

Melissa Adame (Sociology) is part of the Executive Planning Committee for FEED SA 2023. FEED SA is an annual campaign that benefits the San Antonio Food Bank. Over the last two years alone, they have raised over a million meals for our San Antonio neighbors. Every year FEED SA provides a perfect opportunity for businesses, organizations, students, and families to volunteer and commit to fighting hunger. If you would like to learn more or gear up for 2024, please visit www.feedsa.org.

2004

Manuel Jason Peña (Kinesiology) was a firstgeneration college graduate and is a 15-year veteran Teacher of Color, currently serving in Northside ISD. He is also living out a personal and professional dream goal: teaching in the Bicultural-Bilingual Studies department! Peña is nearing the end of his doctoral journey and will earn a Doctor of Educational Leadership and Administration from Gonzaga University. His wife of 28 years and all six of his children will be attending the commencement in Spokane, Washington on Saturday, May 13th. “The next phase of my journey is implementing cultural self-identity and self-decolonization systems and structures in professional development programs for Teachers of Color,” he said. “I am forever grateful to my UTSA alma mater for preparing me to be a global community change agent! Birds up!”

Mario Vela (Sociology, MA Sociology ’08), the assistant vice-provost for career-engaged learning and executive director of the University Career Center at UTSA, recently represented UTSA at the Global Career Services Summit on the programme committee in London.

2005

Geraldine J. Gonzalez (Criminology and Criminal Justice) celebrated six years of employment as a family law attorney at Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas this year.

2006

Alec Vasquez (Master of Public Administration) was selected to participate in the 7th cohort of the City of San Antonio Innovation Academy. The academy is focused on training city employees in Disruptive Lean Six Sigma yellow and green belts, user experience design, and data analysis.

2010

Julie Jackson (Criminology and Criminal Justice) commissioned into the Air Force as an Intelligence Officer upon graduation and served until August 2018. After being a military contractor for three years, she decided to completely change her career field and now works as an SaaS trainer (Software as a Service) for a Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) company. She lives in Fort Worth, TX and has written one book, with plans to publish a second soon. The Myth of Adulting: Everyone's Just Winging It is currently available on Amazon, and Letters From Future Me will be available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

2011

Wayne Gonzales (Criminology and Criminal Justice) was recently awarded the 2023 Electronic Transaction Association “ETA” 40 under 40 honor. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Runners Rising Project, UTSA’s first NIL collective dedicated to providing financial support and professional opportunities to student-athletes with regard to marketing their own Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Gonzales is the Senior Vice President for Risk Management and Compliance at Usio, and the company has rung the closing bell for NASDAQ on three separate occasions. He is deeply involved in the UTSA community, and has spearheaded Usio’s sponsorship efforts for UTSA events including the Diploma Dash, Alumni Association Golf Scramble, Alumni Gala and more.

2012

Johnny Villarreal (Sociology) is on his 28th year of the Fiesta Commission San Antonio. He has retired from Southwest Airlines. “I loved attending UTSA,” he said. “It was a great school and environment.”

2013

Carlos de la Garza (Public Administration) has been passionately working in government and the nonprofit sector, focusing on alleviating homelessness and providing support to vulnerable populations. He has recently taken on the role of director of Miami for Volunteers of America Florida, a nationwide organization dedicated to helping homeless individuals and families. In this position, he has had the privilege of leading a team of compassionate and dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to make a difference in the community. “Together, we have implemented various programs and initiatives aimed at addressing the immediate needs of the homeless population while also working towards long-term solutions for housing and social integration,” he said. “I feel incredibly grateful to be part of an organization that is making a tangible impact on the lives of so many people in need. My education at HCAP has played an essential role in preparing me for this journey, and I look forward to continuing my work in this field.”

2015

Ali Reza Rajabzadeh (Master of Public Administration) is in Charge of Troy University's Texas Support Center. He manages the recruiting teams for both online and main campus students in 17 different states. Since assuming control of the Site, they have won Site of the Year five years in a row. In 2017, he was accepted into the Doctoral of Education Program at Northeastern University. In 2020, he welcomed his second son, Alexander. He completed his doctorate in the spring of 2021, and in the summer of 2022 he and his wife had their third child, Aaliyah!

2017

Joshua Gonzalez (M.S. Kinesiology) went on to receive his Ph.D. in integrative physiology from Michigan Technological University in 2021 and accepted a postdoctoral position at Oregon Health and Science University. His original research article, "Acute effects of electronic cigarettes on arterial pressure and peripheral sympathetic activity in young nonsmokers," has been awarded the AJP-Heart and Circulatory Physiology 2023 Best Research Article Award. This award will be announced at the 2023 American Physiology Summit. This was the first research article Gonzalez published with his UTSA advisor William Cooke. He was also recently awarded a small research grant from the Sleep Research Society Foundation to investigate how nicotine influences sleep and circadian rhythms. “I really loved my time at UTSA, particularly working as a TA for the first-year experience course, Academic Inquiry and Scholarship.”

2018

Jesse Esparza (Public Health) recently began working for the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District in 2022. He works in the Communicable Disease Division as an HIV/STD Data Analyst specializing in program evaluation and improvement. After less than six months on the job, he was selected with a small group of individuals across all city departments to attend the highly respected internal leadership training program, “Innovation Academy.” In this program, he became Disruptive Lean Six Sigma (DLSS) Yellow Belt Certified and is continuing to gain valuable knowledge and skills to lead innovation. He is also going into his fifth season as an Assistant Volleyball Coach at Our Lady of the Lake University.

2019

Gabriel Alvarez (Criminology and Criminal Justice ) has recently completed his coursework for his PhD program at UCI in Criminology, Law and Society! This gives him more time for research! “Go Runners!!”

2020

Alan Mauney (Public Health) With constant reminders to never give up, support from family, friends and advisors, he can finally say that all the pre-requisite classes required for dental school are complete and he is one step closer to applying!

Elisa Negrete (Criminology and Criminal Justice, Psychology) recently became engaged to Carlos Prado, a fellow alum! They met at UTSA during their senior year and graduated together. “We are super excited and can’t wait to say ‘I do’ in April 2024!”

Bobbie Sheppard (Criminology and Criminal Justice) recently traveled with some friends to Zion National Park in Utah and had the most eye-opening, incredible experience. “If you have the opportunity to travel, I encourage you to take it,” she said. “Experiences are far more valuable than money will ever be.”

Christina Vetter (Public Health) spent many years as a health writer and communicator and recently landed her dream job as a full-time health editor. “I work for a company in D.C. that holds health communication contracts with the NIH, CDC, and other Federal health agencies,” she said. “Thanks UTSA for helping me get to where I am today.”

2021

Nathan Aguilan (Public Health) is coming up on a year of employment with Amazon, working as a Workplace Health and Safety Specialist in San Antonio. “I love my job and love working for one of the world’s top employers!”

Anastasia Jones (Public Health, Sociology) continued her education at UT Health Science Center, School of Public Health San Antonio to pursue her MPH in Epidemiology and graduated in May 2023. She was also recently hired as an Epidemiologist 1 with the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Maddy Palacios (Psychology) is currently attending graduate school at UTSA for clinical mental health counseling. She has recently accepted a year-long internship is excited to use the skills she learned in her collegiate career to help the community navigate their mental health needs. When the time is right, she would love to come back to work toward a PhD in counselor education and supervision. “I’m always going to represent and talk about my love for UTSA and the time I have spent here this far,” she said. “I will always be proud to be one of the thousands of alumni making a difference in the world! Go ‘Runners!”

Brittany Frankens (Public Health) spent her last semester at UTSA as an intern with University Health in the Community Initiatives & Population Health Department. Immediately upon graduation, she was offered a full-time position with UH as a Patient Navigator. She has also been accepted to graduate school at UTSA for the MS in Health, Community and Policy degree with a concentration in health data analytics.

Marcos Rodriguez (Criminology and Criminal Justice) recently accepted a job offer with the Travis County Juvenile Probation Department as a probation officer. He will be relocating back to Texas from California to start this new and exciting chapter in his life!

Nazish Sadruddin (Master of Public Administration) was an international student from Karachi, Pakistan. Last year, she joined a small company as a program evaluator and researcher. “I am still very optimistic to accomplish more towards my goals and dreams,” she said.

Anjali Shah (Kinesiology) is currently a medical assistant at Sienna Dermatology with plans to attend graduate school in the fall.